In Early Nov. I purchased 7 Nanolutea juveniles from the WetSpot. Largest about 1 inch.
Now three months later it looks like a pair has formed. The male is almost 2" and the female a little over 1",
What amazes me, at such a young age a pair has formed and they are lit up in breeding coloration.
About one year later. Lit up today, w/fry.
Beautiful fish. Even if you don't have the pleasure of growing out the fry in your community tank, at least you can enjoy the show of their breeding colors.
Mine our spawning about every 5-6 weeks. No fry survives due to being in a community tank. My largest male is about 3.25.
Nanolutea happens to be an oddball for the genus, mine only spawn successfully once a year and spawns are usually under 100 to begin with. Biggest I got was around 400 but only 2 survived. They are very sensitive as fry. However, like most amatitlania, they mature at a little over an inch, which unlike other amatitlania however, takes them a little over a year to attain.
Males also usually max out at around 3-4 inches, so breeding at 2" is not unusual by any means. I have heard of 6" males but I imagine it would take years to attain.
Yepper! Amatitlania . . . they'll dump out TONS of fry. Probably good parents too. (for reference, Amatitlania nigrofsciata are Convict Cichlids)